The company has launched an updated Rasch TR tempering machine for chocolate masses, fat glazes and compound masses.
No separate machine to spin-out inclusions
“It was a classic range we now brought up to the year 2013,” said Tina Gerfer, managing director of Rasch. Now you can run masses with inclusions and simply put everything into the mix, she said.
According to Gerfer, most tempering systems need a special machine that before tempering spin-out inclusions such as nuts and fruits, which are added again later.
She said these separate machines do not necessarily make the process more expensive, use more energy or even impact the flavor as inclusions are removed and put back in, but the machine requires more floor space.
Gerfer said that there were other machines out there that allowed inclusions during tempering, but Rasch’s was the only one that could be cleaned by the customers themselves. She added that time could be saved because it was a continuous process to handle the rework of the chocolate mass.
Screw system
The Rasch machine can incorporate masses with inclusions due to a screw or worm in the machine that rotates to disperse the liquid mass creating stable, smaller crystals. The depth of the screw is adapted depending on the inclusions - up to 16 mm deep for masses with nuts.
The different TR machines have a capacity of 500-2,500 kilos per hour. Gerfer said that demand was greatest for high capacity machines from companies such as Kraft.
Service life and operation
“They last a lifetime,” she said, adding that the machine could run 25-30 years without inspection, although a more regular inspection is recommended.
The machine requires one person to operate, who does not need to be present at all times
Gerfer said that many chocolate makers used several masses and changeovers would take between 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the size of the machine.
The machine launched last year, but a new design is due at Interpack in 2014.
CORRECTION - This article previously stated that new laws in Germany compelled chocolate manufacturers to produce chocolate mass up to the molding stage within a day. The German authorities BVL and German confectionery association BDSI both say they have no knowledge of such a regulation.